Digitalization of Fashion Designership: What Does This Mean for Education?

Fashion industry is at the verge of profound digital transformation - “the fourth industrial revolution” – accelerated by the global pandemic. Digital design tools that are developed specifically for and by fashion designers have created new cultures of fashion design, transforming the professional legitimation and jurisdiction systems. What does this mean for the education of fashion designers? This article investigates the emergence of fashion design 4.0 and proposes six directions that fashion schools should take into account when educating future designers: (1) expansion of digital tech-skills; (2) embodied material and garment construction knowledge; (3) fluid and modular thinking; (4) phygital processes and quantification of design; (5) communication skills; (6) absorbing and mediating the world. These findings were drawn from empirical research material comprising a qualitative online survey of 42 digital fashion designers, 14 interviews of fashion designers, entrepreneurs and educators working in fashion 4.0 environment, and online material of CLO3D community. Approaching digitalization of fashion designership from the perspective of sociology of professions, this article aims to provide insights for fashion scholars, educators, designers and amateur practitioners alike.